ABSTRACT
Economics, sociology, psychology, and the other social sciences begun to play a new and problematic role with respect to national and international policy. The system of social science evolved in the special circumstances of United States (U.S) political and economic history. In effect, US political rhetoric remains steeped in consensus, while its economic characteristics have increasingly been subject to welfare elements. While most officials in government have a series of checks and balances to guide their behavior, few forms of anticipatory socialization apply to social scientists who advise government agencies. The autonomy of the social sciences was rarely doubted. The same cannot be said for the autonomy of policy-making sectors of government. Since the latter are openly involved in operational research, they make slender pretenses towards autonomy. It is chiefly concerned with strains between social science and political requirements in the United States, with particular emphasis on the ways in which financial and institutional arrangements effect norms of social science.
